Piano Tuner

Orlando, Fl

Piano Tuner Technician Repair

Bob Maret, RPT. Orlando, Fl

407-489-9090

Serving Orlando, FL, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Casselberry, Celebration, Chuluota, Disney, Geneva, Heathrow, Hunters Creek, Lake Mary, Longwood, Maitland, Oviedo,Sanford, Universal, Windermere, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Winter Garden, and Central Florida FL -Piano Tuner, Tuning, Technician, Repair and Rebuilder for all pianos and harpsichords, including: Steinway, Baldwin, Yamaha, Kawai, Kimball, Bosendorfer, Schimmel, Mason Hamlin, Chickering, Wurlitzer, player pianos, and more.

    Buying a piano can be confusing. It's a lot like buying a car, but most people know more about cars than they know about pianos. If you have cash available, you have the option of buying a piano though a newspaper ad, www.Craigslist.com, or Ebay. You can save money by doing this (sometimes 50% or more) over retail prices! You need to have some free time to shop for a deal, and I recommend having an experienced Registered Piano Technician (RPT) approve your purchase before it is final. If a piano is less than 10 years old, and has been in a home all that time, you can be fairly confident that it won't need major repair. It may simply need adjusting and several tunings to stabilize it at pitch. Most used pianos for sale haven't been tuned in years, so expect to tune it more often at first. Watch out for pianos used in a commercial environment such as a school, church, piano bar, etc. These pianos usually see lots of abuse in addition to poor climate control and can be in very poor condition, even if only 5 years old. Take a pass on the big old upright pianos as well. These pianos are more than 60 years old and will require expensive rebuilding. Avoid pianos exposed to steam radiator heat which dries out a piano, seriously damaging it. Avoid pianos with lots of rust on the strings and tuning pins as well as those stored in a garage. Pianos can last 25 to 60 years before major rebuilding is required. If you buy a piano that is 40-60 years old or more, expect to pay big bucks to rebuild it down the road. Some grand pianos are worth rebuilding, but most upright pianos are not. To figure out the age of a piano, write down the brand name and the serial # and call any piano store to look it up in the Pierce Piano Atlas. Many brands are listed in the atlas, but some are not.

    If you need to finance your piano, look to the local piano stores. All piano stores have access to financing. Piano stores sell new, used, and rebuilt pianos. Most stores offer the advantage of a warranty as well. It's standard for a store to give one complimentary tuning with a piano purchase. To be on the safe side, employ a good independant Piano Technician to inspect your purchase before you finalize the deal. A good Technician will know which stores in your area are reputable, and can list them for you. Each store has a different selection of piano brands, which will differ in quality, some better than others, some more expensive than others. The three major Orlando piano stores are on my links page.

    In general, an expensive new piano will be better quality than a low-priced one. The low-priced pianos may look nice, but most cut corners in the quality of parts and the time spent in adjusting the touch. Expect to have more action noise, more repairs, more broken strings, and shorter usable life from a low-priced piano. Some low-priced pianos are downright hard to play! If you are not going to play the piano much, a cheaper model may suffice. If you play well, and tone, touch, long term value, and reliability are important, you must spend the extra money for a good piano. You will be disappointed if you don't. A good upright piano is better than a lower priced grand. They are the same price range! Check out "The Piano Book" by Larry Fine. Larry's book rates all the new pianos and lists any concerns with each. It is a great reference for anyone looking to buy a piano! Most piano technicians will be glad to answer any questions you may have as you decide on your purchase. Visit www.Pianoratings.com to see how well a specific new piano rates for quality.

If your kids are just starting, and money is a issue, I would suggest buying a used vertical piano from the newspaper. These can be found for around $600.00 to $1500. Have a technician check it out before you buy. Then plan on trading up to a better instrument if the kids stick with it for more than 2 years. Try to find a piano taller than 42" as measured from the floor to the top of the lid. Piano's shorter than that (Spinets) tend to be of lower quality, are harder to play and costly to repair. Call or email my with any questions you may have. Good luck with your search!